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[At Savatthi a certain (unnamed) monastic came to the Buddha and said:]
"It would be well for me, venerable sir, if the Blessed One would teach me
briefly some Dharma so that having heard it I might dwell alone, secluded, vigilant, ardent, and resolute."

"Meditator, if one clings to anything, one is in bondage to Mara. If one does not cling, one is free of the Evil One."

"I have understood, Blessed One, I have understood, Well-farer!"

"But how, meditator, do you understand in full what I have stated in brief?"

"Venerable sir, if one clings to the body... feeling... perception... formations... consciousness, one is in bondage to Mara. If one does not cling to the body... feeling... perception... formations... consciousness, one is free of the Evil One. That, venerable sir, is how I understand in full the sense of what the Blessed One has
stated in brief."

"Good, meditator, good! You have well understood in full the sense of what
I stated in brief. If one clings to the body... feeling...
perception... formations... consciousness, one is in bondage
to Mara. If one does not cling, one is free of the Evil One. That is how
the sense of what I have stated in brief is to be understood in full."

The Doomed

Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (SN I.1.3)

Oh, man, I'm doomed!

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One (Bhagava) was staying near
Savatthi, at Jeta's Grove, in Anathapindika's park. Now a certain
deva,* in the last watch of the night, lighting up the entire grove with its radiant beauty, approached the Blessed One and stood respectfully to one side.

*DEVA: A devata (or deva) is an inhabitant of one of the
several heavens ("angels") or, if earthbound, living in secluded woodland places (fairies) particularly above trees. The word means "a shining one" and is related to the
English words deity, divinity, etc. The body of a devata is physical but purer and
more subtle than a human being's and, as such, like a human's, it radiates light. The watch of night before
dawn is the usual time for these beings to visit the Buddha, one of
whose titles, is sattha devamanussanam, "the teacher of devas and humans."

Standing aside, the deva spoke this verse before the Blessed One:

"Life but leads to doom.
Our time is short.
From decay nothing can keep us safe.
Contemplating thus the fearfulness of death,
Let's make merit that will bring us bliss!

[The Buddha replied:]

Life but leads to doom.
Our time is short.
From decay nothing that can keep us safe.
Contemplating thus this fear of death,
Abandon worldly bait and seek final peace (nirvana).

The World of the Thirty-Three Devas (Tavatimsa) belongs to the Sensuous Sphere (kama-vacara)
and is ruled over by Sakka (Sanskrit Indra), their chief. The various "heavens" of
the Sensuous Sphere are arrived at by good karma done on Earth (such as that undertaken by Sakka himself to merit being reborn their as chief or divine king). Although a celestial being's lifespan is much longer than a human being's, they are still subject to death and rebirth.

Sakka's Karma on Earth

Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (SN 11.11)

Sakka, King of the Devas, as St. Michael

The Buddha: Formerly, meditators, when Sakka, King of the Devas, was a human being (Magha of Macala village, Maghavā, or Michael),
he undertook to practice unremittingly seven rules of conduct, by
reason of which he attained his position of honor. What were the seven?

As long as I live may I support my mother and father.

As long as I live may I respect the elders of my family.

As long as I live may I speak kindly and gently.

As long as I live may I not speak maliciously.

As long as I live may I dwell in my home with my mind free from the
taint of selfishness (greed), generous, open-handed, pleased to relinquish
[possessions], accessible to entreaties, enjoying giving and sharing
with others.

As long as I live may I speak truthfully.

As long as I live may I control my anger, and if anger arises in me may I quickly dispel it.

Funny

WISDOM QUARTERLY

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